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Lightmass Offensive
The Lightmass Offensive, also known as the Lightmass Bombing or Timgad bombing, was a COG operation to destroy a significant proportion of Locust forces in hoping to end the war once and for all. Taking place in Ephyra city, Lethia Imulsion Facility, and the Outer Hollow, the objective of the mission was to deploy the Lightmass Bomb. It was hoped that this would destroy the Locust Horde and end the 14 years of war. The operation was to be carried out in two phases; the deployment of the Sonic Resonator to map the tunnels and provide targeting data for the bomb, and the actual delivery and detonation of the bomb itself. Order of Battle watch as Tyro Pillar leaves.|left|250px|thumb]] Opening shots In the opening shots of the Lightmass offensive, Alpha Squad and along other squads was taking heavy casualties and running into heavy resistance from entrenched Locust forces in the city of Ephyra. While Alpha and Sgt.Kennel’s squad were dealing with the Locust Horde, Colonel Col.Victor Hoffman was on his own mission. The Slab Since the fall of Ephyra and Landown Locust forces were scattered around the Plateau and with the great loss of human life in the 14 years of war, Colonel Hoffman was forced to get fresh new recruits from the infirm, the young, and the irredeemable. Hoffman pardoned numerous criminals of all different kinds, but left Marcus Fenix to the Locust that were storming 'The Slab' (Jacinto Maximum Security Prison). Lucky for Marcus, Dominic Santiago had come to rescue him from the prison and the Locust Horde, and enrolled him in Delta Squad. Resonator Delta Squad was personally ordered by Hoffman to relocate the Resonator and give support to Alpha Squad. Delta Squad then moved on the House of Sovereigns, the last known location of Alpha. Delta proceeded to eliminate several Locust hard points on the road to the House of Sovereigns, however during one fight Private Anthony Carmine was killed by a Locust sniper. Regardless of the casualty Delta advanced into the House, where they came across Private Augustus Cole, and moved on to take out the Seeders that were blocking communication with High Command. Alpha Squad and the Resonator were recovered; however the King Raven that was coming to extract the squads was shot down in an ambush by a horde of Drones led personally by General RAAM. Lt Minh Young Kim and several Gears were lost in the attack and the subsequent arrival of the Berserker. The Berserker was killed by Fenix with the Hammer of Dawn and Fenix was promoted to Sergeant to replace Kim as leader of Delta Squad which was now made up of Sergeant Marcus Fenix, Private Dominic Santiago and the two survivors of Alpha Squad, Privates Augustus Cole and Damon Baird. The road to Lethia A newly promoted Sgt.Fenix was charged to lead Delta Squad to the Lethia Imulsion Facility and activate the Resonator to map the Hollow. In order to reach their destination faster, Delta struck a deal with local Stranded to use a Junker (essentially a stripped down APC). After a long and dangerous road, which was beset by both the Locust Horde and the fearsome Kryll, Delta was able to reach the Junker, save the stranded camp, and reach the Lethia Imulsion Facility. The Lambent While Delta Squad were moving into the Facility they come across the previously unseen Lambent Wretchs. After much complication and confusion they proceeded to destroy the Wretches and continued deeper into the building. There they came across the remains of a small group of Stranded, and enlisted a survivor to guide them into the Hollows, where they became the first group of Humans to knowingly enter the Locust home in 14 years. The Outer Hollows Delta Squad split up and moved deeper into the Hollows to find a perfect spot to place the Resonator. After battling through waves of Drones, Wretches, Boomers and even a Corpser, Delta located the rear exit of the Lethia Imulsion Facility. However, it was guarded by the fearsome Theron Sentinels. Delta split up to attack the Therons in a pincer move. After the last of the Locust soldiers were dead, Delta activated the Resonator, and exited the Hollows. Unfortunately, the Resonator failed to map a significant portion of the Hollows. Despite this terrible disappointment, private Damon Baird discovered a geobot containing a near-complete map of the tunnel system. Interestingly, the information stored on the geobot had come from a server located at the East Barricade Academy, former home of Sgt. Marcus Fenix and his Father Adam Fenix. East Barricade En route via King Ravens, Delta Squad came under heavy fire. After losing another King Raven, Delta set down to find the survivors from the crash site. Despite the heavy opposition, Delta located the Seeders responsible for taking down the Raven and destroyed them with the Hammer of Dawn. Delta located and secured the crashed King Raven, scaring off the swarming Stranded and stripping them of their weapons. With the Academy straight ahead Marcus and Dom moved forward while Cole and Baird stayed behind to evacuate the two surviving Gears from the crash site. Immediately, Marcus and Dom were met with a challenge. They fought hard to eliminate groups of Locust enemies. After eliminating those enemies, they thought it was over, but there was another Berserker waiting for them. After killing her, Dom and Marcus at the front step of the Manor, after taking out yet another gun emplacement. Baird and Cole tried to repair an APC while Dom and Marcus went to find data in the Manor. Despite heavy resistance from the Locust, JACK was able to obtain the data and all four escaped to the APC. East Timgad Gears of War PC: Act 5: Chapter 1: Impasse After a fast escape from a Brumak, Delta runs into the Timgad bridge only to find the draw bridge open. Delta spits up to find a way to get power on by entering Nassar Memorial Park, only to find the power lines are being diverted from the Bridge. After being chased by the Brumak across East Timgad, they get a distress call from Anya that the Train commander is under attack, but Seeder jams kick in and Delta is cut off. After finding the Location of Timgad Central Energy, Delta discovers that the Stranded are not stealing power from the Plant but in fact the Locust are sending power back into the Hollows and the Train has been overrun and all survivors are thrown in front of the train. Lightmass bomb Delta Squad quickly moved to Timgad Station, fighting off Locust troops and boarding the Tyro Pillar. Unfortunately Cole and Baird were unable to get on the train. They were forced to wait for pickup from a King Raven. Marcus and Dom faced heavy opposition from another Berserker, Lambent Wretchs, and Reavers, fighting their way to the first car and finding the remains of the Gears that were guarding the Lightmass bomb. Here they encountered General RAAM, and with the help of a King Raven, were able to kill the Locust General and load the data onto the Lightmass bomb. Dom and Marcus safely got onto the King Raven and watched the Lightmass bomb drop into a lake of Imulsion. The bomb was able to destroy the Locust living in the Outer Hollows and the Kryll breeding grounds. Aftermath COG Premature Victory With the success of the Lightmass bombing, Coalition High Command was able to order repairs and allow many of their Gears to rest, since Locust incursions in the aftermath of the attack were low in numbers and strength. The bomb destroyed the Kryll breeding grounds and 99.9% of their population. The Eagle Newspaper reported that the COG recaptured EphyraGears of War 2 collection http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisbartlett/3019591574/in/set-72157608811929784/, where the Stranded were allowed to roam free in city both day and night.Gears of War: Aspho Fields However, the vaporized Imulsion led to Rust Lung in people who inhaled it. The Horde Rebuilds Until the Sinking of Tollen and Montevado, the COG High Command did not realize that the Horde was still organized. The Lightmass bomb awakened the Riftworm, a creature the Locust revered as a deity. From the time after the Lightmass offensive, the Locust attacked North Gate Agricultural Depot and Jilane. Kantus High Priest Skorge would use the Riftworm to destroy several COG outposts and three cities, leading to Operation: Hollow Storm. Beneath the Surface: An Inside Look at Gears of War 2 References Category:Battles Category:COG military victories Category:Events